Bayer opens multi-crop breeding station

New facility will also have cultivable area of 25 acres for field experimentation

Bayer CropScience India opened a multi-crop breeding station in Chandippa, about 46 kilometre from here, on  Thursday. The   facility will focus on breeding and development of core germplasm for high performing hybrids in rice, cotton  and millet.

Spread over 36 acres, the breeding station will be equipped with all aspects of research and development infrastructure in the same location. The new facility will also have a cultivable area of 25 acres for field experimentation. Approximately 80 employees will be stationed at the site,  the company stated in a press release.

“Chandippa will serve as a strategic site for product development activities in India and Asia Pacific markets," Bayer India group head,  Stephan Gerlich, said.

Over the last three years, Bayer is stated to have invested nearly Rs 100 crore in various projects in India. These include capacity expansion at its existing seed processing plant in Toopran near Hyderabad and a new mustard breeding station in Palwal, Haryana  besides the Chandippa facility.

A key highlight of the station is its rain water harvesting pond, a first-of-its-kind facility in India and has been imported from the Netherlands. This fully automated system will harvest rain water, which will be filtered and utilised for cooling in the greenhouses.